Karnataka budget 2022-23: No new taxes, even petroleum products untouched!

Bengaluru: Karnataka will not see a rise in taxes for the next fiscal according to the Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai who presented the budget for the year 2022- 23 that has seen the petroleum product prices untouched. The major highlight is the fact that he has laid out Rs. 1000 crore for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project which was in the news recently.

In his budget speech he presented in the Karnataka legislature on Friday, he suggested no tax increases in his Budget 2022-23, The CM, who also holds the Finance ministry, stated in his maiden budget that his administration is committed to completing the Mekedatu project over the Cauvery River, which Tamil Nadu opposes, and has allocated Rs 1,000 crore to it this year. In the first budget he has presented in his political career so far the Chief Minister, who also serves as Finance Minister, stated that his government is committed to completing the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery River, which is opposed by neighbouring Tamil Nadu and has allocated Rs 1,000 crore to it this year.

Major relief -no new tax of hike!

With only a year until the state's Assembly elections, this is expected to be the final full-fledged budget before the elections. "The economy is expected to improve in 2022-23. In these conditions, I am unwilling to burden the average man with further taxes " Chief Minister assured. During his presentation of the budget to the legislature, he stated that tax collection targets will be met by ensuring that all tax departments work better and focus will be on a judicial mix of revenue and non-revenue tax models. The state can heave a sigh of relief that the chief minister will not raise the prices of gasoline and diesel. "In November 2021, the sales tax on gasoline and diesel was cut in response to the challenges posed by the second and third waves of the Covid-19 epidemic in 2021-22. As a result, fuel and diesel prices have dropped by Rs 7 per litre "He made a point. Karnataka's fuel and diesel tariffs are lower than those in other south Indian states, he claimed, adding that "I have no plans to raise the rates in 2022-23."

Mekedatu reservoir gets `1000 cr

Bommai stated that the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and Bengaluru Drinking Water Project will be implemented after receiving necessary clearances from the appropriate central government authority and that a grant of Rs 1,000 crore will be provided in the current fiscal for the implementation. The CM stated that his government has prioritised the preservation of cattle resources and has implemented the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, adding that the number of 'Goshalas' will be increased from 31 to 100 for effective implementation of the act, with Rs 50 crore set aside for the purpose. For the first time in the state, the government will also introduce the 'Punyakoti Dattu Yojane,' which would encourage public and commercial organisations to adopt cows in goshalas for Rs 11,000 per year. Diesel subsidy of Rs 250 per acre, subject to a maximum of 5 acres, would be paid through Direct Benefit Transfer under a new scheme called "Raitha Shakti" for which Rs 500 crore has been included in the budget to stimulate the use of farm machinery and cut fuel expenditure for the first time in the state.A total of Rs 500 crore has been set up in the budget for the construction of infrastructure in the state's government schools, with priority given to selected aspirational taluks. The budget also intends to create 438 "Namma Clinics" across the state's major cities, as well as in all of Bengaluru's wards. These clinics will offer services such as non-communicable illness screening and referral to specialists for more advanced treatment. To help women graduates of SC/ST start businesses, entrepreneurship training will be provided at the prestigious IIM Bengaluru. At a cost of Rs 89 crore, twenty government schools in the city would be transformed into 'Bengaluru Public Schools.'